Depression is real, even in the church, you aren’t alone and there are Biblical ways to overcome depression. This post includes a list on how.
Satan can deceive us into thinking our thoughts and emotions are due to our circumstances but it is really due to what’s happening in our minds. When doubt or any attack on the mind, starts entering your thoughts, changing focus is just one strategy you can use to counteract it. As you saw in the previous chapter underlying thoughts and beliefs can lead to emotions and can even turn into anxiety and depression. The enemy can then continue to use these in our vulnerable state to whisper more lies, which we can then believe to be our own thoughts and beliefs, distract us and tempt us.
When I have gone through long seasons of the Neurocardiogenic Syncope (NCS) I have experienced thoughts like, “I will never be healed”, “I’m so alone with this” or “I’ve had enough!” Yes, sometimes it just gets me down, other times I have experienced longer periods of grief, loss, pain, sadness, and depression. The devil then comes in with the thoughts for self harm and even thoughts of suicide. I had moments where I genuinely believed “I couldn’t do life anymore” and spent hours crying and asking the Lord to take me. Depression is more commen in the world than we realise. 1 in 4 people experience some kind of mental health issue sometime in their lives. It’s nothing to be ashamed of and we need to recognise and address it if and when it does. If this is you, you are not alone! There ARE ways to overcome depression.
Biblical Ways to Overcome Depression
1. Identify the problem.
It is important to recognise and identify the cause. Once you know this, it’s easier to deal with, if possible, or pray about and hand it over to God. General prayers are great, but the more specific you can be the easier it is to get specific answers.
“For the enemy has pursued and persecuted my soul, he has crushed my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in dark places as those who have been long dead.”
Psalm 143:3
2. Acknowledge that depression steals light & life.
Depression can feel like a dark space. You may have heard it been described as a pit or dark valley or even ‘black dog.’ And anywhere that is dark, is so because there isn’t any or enough light. So, in order to counteract the dark, ask God to shine His light. You can pray and ask God to shine His light onto any dark areas, and reveal the darkness, aka the underlying problem, and for Him to bring you back into His light and help you to overcome depression. Then be patient. He will.
“Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed and faints within me [wrapped in gloom]; my heart within my bosom grows numb.”
Psalm 143:4
3. Practice Gratitude.
Being thankful and practicing gratitude flips the lid on the negative thinking that comes with depression. Remember previous answers to prayer in your own life and recorded in the Bible. Give thanks for what you do have in life, even if it feels like it’s not much, you can always be thankful for; creation & nature, what Jesus went through on the cross for you and the changing of seasons- winter comes and it goes. But there is beauty in ALL seasons.
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.“
Psalm 143:5
4. Praise & Worship Anyway
Whether you ‘feel like it’ or not, God is worthy to be praised. Turning your focus away from your situation and around to God is a sure fine way to lift you up. So, get the music on or sing your own praise and worship and you will see that the storm disappears into the background. It may still be swirling around you but you get to choose what your mind is focusing on.
“I spread forth my hands to You; my soul thirsts after You like a thirsty land [for water]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that)!”
Psalm 143:6
5. Ask God for help.
Pray! Ask God for His help to overcome depression. It can be so easy to withdraw from God. Perhaps you even blame Him or are angry or bitter with Him for your situation. But He cares for you, loves you and is with you. He wants to hear from you, He wants a relationship with you. Not just in the good times but in the difficut times too. So, reach out to Him, tell Him how you are feeling, He knows, but He wants you to talk to Him and He wants to talk to you. Practise lamenting. There are plenty of examples in the Psalms of prayers from people who are struggling with depression. Check them out, meditate on them, pray them and ask the Lord for help.
“Answer me speedily, O Lord, for my spirit fails; hide not Your (the grave). face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit”
Psalm 143:7
6. Listen to God.
Listening to the Lord is part of prayer. We can’t just monologue to Him. He wants communication with you, that’s important in relationships, it’s a two way street! So, in your prayer time, be sure to stop and listen to what He wants to say to you too.
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.” Psalm 143:8
7. Deliverance.
Obviously mental health could be a chemical imbalance but often it can be caused by oppression of a spirit from the enemies side. If you are born again you have the Holy Spirit living in you, therefore you can’t be possessed but spirits can oppress you. These could be a spirit of rejection, bitterness, doubt etc. But you can ask the Lord for revelation on this and speak to the spirit directly yourself, in Jesus’ name. Or speak to a leader in a Bible- believing church and ask for prayer for deliverance to overcome depression.
“Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I flee to You to hide me.”
Psalm 143:9
8. Seek God for Guidance.
Again, pray! Asking God for His wisdom, knowledge and leadership on the subject of depression and on your own individual situation.
“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.”
Psalm 143:10
Please don’t give up or give in to temptation! When I wanted to, I was hanging onto God by a thread and managed all of the above, without even knowing it! Whether you feel it or believe it right now or not, God has you, He sees you, knows what you are going through and loves you unconditionally. He is holding onto you like a parent holding their baby, and this dark season, will pass. Please hang onto and trust that.
This list content is an excerpt from ‘Battle Strategies for Spiritual Warfare’ which is coming soon! Subscribe below to receive updates.
If this has been helpful today, or you have anything else to add to help others overcome depression, let us know in the comments.
If you need additional help, prayer & support to overcome depression, let’s chat.
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